Under the HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-03 call for proposals, the Momentum Glycan Biomarker Research Group of the HUN-REN Research Center for Natural Sciences (HUN-REN RCNS) has successfully joined the ongoing ImproGlyco EIC Pathfinder Open scheme as a Hop-on Facility. The two-year project began on February 1, 2026. The project will be carried out with the participation of research group leader Dr. Lilla Turiák and Dr. Dávid Virág, a research fellow in the group.

Secreted and cell-surface proteins in human cells are often heavily modified by N- and O-linked glycosylation fundamentally influencing signaling between cells. These modifications are introduced by the combined, sequential action of multiple individual enzymes. The specificity and selectivity of these enzymes together with variation in protein production rates and other factors mean that individual proteins and cells can exhibit complex patterns of glycoforms which are challenging to both analyse and engineer. In this project, the IMProGlyco approach will be to profile, understand and re-engineer these glycoforms to generate therapeutics with defined patterns of glycosylation critical to their biological and medicinal activity.

The project is a collaboration between the University of Leeds, the University of York, BOKU University (Vienna), Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo University Hospital, GlycoSeLect, the Centre for Process Innovation, and HUN-REN RCNS.

Successful development of the IMProGlyco methodology will enable:

 • Optimised glycosylation patterns to improve the therapeutic potency, stability, and immune response of biologics. 

• Enhanced production efficiency by developing bioprocessing techniques that allow precise control over glycan structures. 

• Enabled reproducibility of glycan modification processes in biopharmaceutical production, ensuring cost-effective manufacturing.

 • An exploration of the role of glycans in the biological system, potentially reducing adverse immune reactions and improving therapeutic behaviour. 

Tasks of the HUN-REN RCNS will include the glycomic characterization of selectively modified mammalian cell lines and the HPLC-MS-based glycoproteomic characterization of selectively modified target proteins.

The website of the project can be accessed here: https://improglyco.science/